- The Elephant and the Rotten Bridge
It is seldom that an elephant can be induced to pass over ground he considers unsafe. Sometimes, however, a driver obtains such a mastery over a timid animal, that he compels him to undertake what his better sense would induce him to decline. An elephant of this character was owned by a person residing in the neighbourhood of Gyah. Between the house and the town was a small bridge, over which the elephant had frequently passed. One day, however, he refused to go over. He tried it with his trunk, evidently suspecting that its strength was not sufficient to bear his weight. Still, the obstinate driver urged him on with the sharp spear with which elephants are driven. At length, with cautious steps he began the passage, still showing an extreme unwillingness to proceed. As he approached the centre, loud cracks were heard, when the treacherous bridge gave way, and both elephant and rider were precipitated into the stream below; the latter being killed by the fall, and the former, who had proved himself the most sensible being of the two, being much injured. - The two wise cart-horses
Cart-horses, though heavy-looking animals, are more sagacious that their more gracefully formed relatives. A cart-horse had been driven from a farmyard to the neighbouring brook early one morning during winter to drink. The water was frozen over, and the horse stamped away with his fore-feet, but was unable to break the ice. Finding this, he waited till a companion came down, when the two, standing side by side, and causing their hoofs to descend together, broke through the ice, and were thus enabled to obtain the water they required. - The Polar bear and her cubs
The monarch of the Arctic regions, the monstrous white bear there reigns supreme. Savage and ferocious as is his consort, as well as he, she shows the utmost affection for her young. I have a sad tale to tell. The crew of an exploring vessel in the Arctic Seas had killed a walrus, and set fire to part of the blubber. The steam of the flesh drew from afar towards it a she bear and her two cubs. Putting their noses to the tempting mess, they began to eat it eagerly. The seamen, seeing this, threw other pieces on the ice nearer to the ship. The bear incautiously approached, carrying off the pieces, which she bestowed on her cubs, and, though evidently famished, taking but a small portion herself. The thoughtless sailors shot the two cubs, and again firing, wounded the mother. Though she herself was barely able to crawl to the spot where they lay, she carried to them the last lump of blubber, endeavouring to make them eat it. Discovering that they were unable to do so, she endeavoured to raise first one, and then the other; but in vain. She now began to retreat; but her motherly feelings overcoming her, though conscious of the danger she was running, she returned to where they lay, moaning mournfully. Several times did she thus behave, when, seemingly convinced that her young ones were cold and helpless, she cast a reproachful glance towards the vessel whence the cruel bullets had proceeded, and uttered a low growl of angry despair which might have moved the hearts even of the most callous. A shower of musket bullets, however, laid her low between her two cubs, and she died licking their wounds. - The Cat and the Pigeon
Affection for one of the feathered race was shown by a cat which was rearing several kittens. In another part of the loft a pigeon had built her nest; but her eggs and young having been frequently destroyed by rats, it seemed to occur to her that she should be in safer quarters near the cat. Puss, pleased with the confidence placed in her, invited the pigeon to remain near her, and a strong friendship was established between the two. They fed out of the same dish; and when Puss was absent, the pigeon, in return for the protection afforded her against the rats, constituted herself the defender of the kittens—and on any person approaching nearer than she liked, she would fly out and attack them with beak and wings, in the hope of driving them away from her young charges. Frequently, too, after this, when neither the kittens nor her own brood required her care, and the cat went out about the garden or fields, the pigeon might be seen fluttering close by her, for the sake of her society. - The Cat and the Frog
I have an instance of a still stranger friendship to mention. The servants of a country-house—and I am sure that they were kind people—had enticed a frog from its hole by giving it food. As winter drew on, Froggy every evening made its way to the kitchen hearth before a blazing fire, which it found much more comfortable than its own dark abode out in the yard. Another occupant of the hearth was a favourite old cat, which at first, I daresay, looked down on the odd little creature with some contempt, but was too well bred to disturb an invited guest. At length, however, the two came to a mutual understanding; the kind heart of Puss warming towards poor chilly little Froggy, whom she now invited to come and nestle under her cozy fur. From that time forward, as soon as Froggy came out of its hole, it hopped fearlessly towards the old cat, who constituted herself its protector, and would allow no one to disturb it. - The cat which died of grief
A lady in France possessed a cat which exhibited great affection for her. She accompanied her everywhere, and when she sat down always lay at her feet. From no other hands than those of her mistress would she take food, nor would she allow any one else to fondle her. The lady kept a number of tame birds; but the cat, though she would willingly have caught and eaten strange birds, never injured one of them. At last the lady fell ill, when nothing could induce the cat to leave her chamber; and on her death, the attendants had to carry away the poor animal by force. The next morning, however, she was found in the room of death, creeping slowly about, and mewing piteously. After the funeral, the faithful cat made her escape from the house, and was at length discovered stretched out lifeless above the grave of her mistress, having evidently died of a broken heart. - The Cat and the Knocker
When you see Puss seated by the fireside, blinking her eyes, and looking very wise, you may often ask, “I wonder what she can be thinking about.” Just then, probably, she is thinking about nothing at all; but if you were to turn her out of doors into the cold, and shut the door in her face, she would instantly begin to think, “How can I best get in again?” And she would run round and round the house, trying to find a door or window open by which she might re-enter it. I once heard of a cat which exerted a considerable amount of reason under these very circumstances. The house is situated in the country, and there is a door with a small porch opening on a flower-garden. Very often when this door was shut, little Deb was left outside; and on such occasions she used to mew as loudly as she could to beg for admittance. Occasionally she was not heard; but instead of running away, and trying to find some other home, she used patiently to ensconce herself in a corner of the window-sill, and wait till some person came to the house, who, on knocking at the door, found immediate attention. Many a day, no doubt, little Deb sat there on the window-sill and watched this proceeding, gazing at the knocker, and wondering what it had to do with getting the door open. A month passed away, and little Deb grew from a kitten into a full-sized cat. Many a weary hour was passed in her corner. At length Deb arrived at the conclusion that if she could manage to make the knocker sound a rap-a-tap-tap on the door, the noise would summon the servant, and she would gain admittance as well as the guests who came to the house. One day Deb had been shut out, when Mary, the maidservant, who was sitting industriously stitching away, heard a rap-a-tap at the front door, announcing the arrival, as she supposed, of a visitor. Putting down her work, she hurried to the door and lifted the latch; but no one was there except Deb, who at that moment leaped off the window-sill and entered the house. Mary looked along the road, up and down on either side, thinking that some person must have knocked and gone away; but no one was in sight. The following day the same thing happened, but it occurred several times before any one suspected that Deb could possibly have lifted the knocker. At length Mary told her mistress what she suspected, and one of the family hid in the shrubbery to watch Deb’s proceedings. Deb was allowed to run out in the garden, and the door was closed. After a time the little creature was seen to climb up on the window-sill, and then to rear herself on her hind-feet, in an oblique position at the full stretch of her body, when, steadying herself with one front paw, with the other she raised the knocker; and Mary, who was on the watch, instantly ran to the door and let her in. Deb’s knock now became as well-known to the servant as that of any other member of the family, and, no doubt to her great satisfaction, it usually met with prompt attention. [Edited slightly] - Dromedary Camel
Dromedary Camel - Dromedary (standing) and Bactrian Camels
Dromedary (standing) and Bactrian Camels - Camel
Camel - Bactrian Camel
Bactrian Camel - Loaded-up Camel
Loaded-up Camel - Horse and buggy in a snowstorm
Horse and buggy in a snowstorm - Aardvark
Of the order of toothless animals, the aardvark (Orycteropus aethiopicus), which occurs from the lowlands to the Woina-Deka, should be mentioned. The shy animal, with its smell and hearing, dwells in self-dug caves, characterized by lively leaps and a kangaroo-like position, supported by the powerful tail. It often goes only on the hind feet and nd sniffs the earth with the long, constantly moving nose, which resembles a pig's trunk, in order to look for ants. When it has discovered such a place, it begins to dig very skillfully and vigorously with the forefeet and push back the agitated Earth with the hind feet. For urine and dung, the aardvark digs a small pit, which is then carefully covered up again. In the building itself, it sleeps curled up lying on its side. Pursued, it hurries away in rapid bursts and burrows quickly, closing the tube behind it. - Painted Dog
Painted dog ( Lycaon pictus ) A hyena-like predator, the "painted dog“( Lycaon pictus ) in groups; he attacks the flocks and wreaks havoc among them. The steppe landscapes are the real home of this sociable, up-and-out and murderous creature that never hunts alone. It gets its name from the large, dark spots on the light skins, where it is easy to distinguish. - A prairie dog town
The burrows are of considerable dimensions, and evidently run to no small depth, as one of them has been known to absorb five barrels of water without being filled. They are dug in a sloping direction, forming and angle of about forty-five degrees with the horizon, and after descending for five or six feet, they take a sudden turn and rise gradually upward. The prairie dog has not the privilege of possessing a home exclusively devoted to its own use, for the Burrowing Owl, and the terrible rattlesnake, take forcible possession of the burrows, and devour the inmates, thus procuring board and lodging at very easy rates. - "Earth" of the Fox
Mother fox bringing food to its young. The fox is a well-known burrower, its "earth" being familiar to many by by sight, and to all by name. Few persons, who do not know the history of the fox, would believe it to be capable of forming excavations of such extent. The fore feet of the mole are clearly formed for digging, their sharp claws penetrating the earth, their broad palms acting as shovels, and their powerful muscles giving the needful force. These limbs are essentially used for digging, and are but little employed as means of locomotion. But the fox is an admirable runner, as any hunter can avouch, and its fore limbs are formed for speed and endurance, their length enduing them with the one quality, and their muscular lightness with the other. Yet, just as the digging limbs of the mole are used fr locomotion, and enable the animal to proceed at no contemptible speed, so the running limbs of the fox are used for digging, and e nable the creature to excavate burrows of no contemptible dimensions. - Fortress of the mole
Of all the mammalia, the Mole is entitled to take first place in our list of burrowers. This extraordinary animal does not merely dig tunnels in the ground and sit at the end of them, but forms a complicated subterranean dwelling-place, with chambers, passages, and other arrangements of wonderful completeness. It has regular roads leading to its feeding grounds; establishes a system of communication as elaborate as that of a modern railway, or to be more correct, as that of the subterranean network of metropolitan sewers; and is an animal of varied accomplishments. - A Cats Eye
A Cats Eye - The Chief of the Clan
A domestic cat sitting before a picture of a male lion - Study of a cat from nature
Study of a cat from nature - Kitten and puppy playing
Kitten and puppy playing with a basket of apples - A Kitten
A Kitten - A Kitten playing
A Kitten playing (or sleeping) - A Cats Eye
A Cats Eye - A cat cleaning her kitten
A cat cleaning her kitten - Cat sitting on some cloth
Cat sitting on some cloth - Cat cleaning itself
Cat cleaning itself - Galloping Horse
Galloping Horse - The Elephant, and its young
The Elephant, and its young - Fore-limb of Monkey compared to fore-limb of Whale
A. Fore-limb of Monkey B. Fore-limb of Whale What is meant by homology? Essential similarity of architecture, though the appearances may be very different This is seen in comparing these two fore-limbs, A, of Monkey, B, of Whale. They are as different as possible, yet they show the same bones, e.g. SC, the scapula or shoulder-blade; H, the humerus or upper arm; R and U, the radius and ulna of the fore-arm; CA, the wrist; MC, the palm; and then the fingers. - The Flipper of a Whale compared to the hand of man
In the bones and in their arrangement there is a close resemblance in the two cases, yet the outcome is very different. The multiplication of finger joints in the whale is a striking feature. - Skeletons of the Gibbon, Orang, Chimpanzee, Gorilla, Man
Photographically reduced from diagrams of the natural size (except that of the gibbon, which was twice as large as nature) drawn by Mr. Waterhouse Hawkins from specimens in the Museum of the Royal College of Surgeons. - The Skull and Brain-Case of Pithecanthropus
The java ape-man, as restored. By J. H. Mcgregor from the scanty remains The restoration shows the low, retreating forehead and the prominent eyebrow ridges. - A monkey
A monkey - Two deer
Two deer - The Lion
The Lion - Man Lion
- Stone lion at the entrance to a temple
- Nutria
I believe this is a Nutria, an animal like a beaver but with a rat like tail - Beaver
Beaver - Fallow Deer
Fallow Deer - Horse
Horse - Wounded lion
[A drawing taken from a bas relief of the royal Assyrian lion hunt] - A Human Skeleton in the Attitude of a Quadruped
A Human Skeleton in the Attitude of a Quadruped. To give a general Idea of the position of the Bones in other Vertebrates. - Skeleton of the Bear
1. Cranium; 2, face; 3, atlas; 4, axis; 5, seventh cervical vertebra; 6, first dorsal vertebra; 7, fourteenth and last dorsal vertebra; 8, lumbar vertebræ; 9, sacrum; 10, coccygeal vertebræ; 11, sternum; 12, ninth and last sternal rib; 13, costal cartilages; 14, acromion process; 15, third fossa on the external surface of the scapula; 16, great tuberosity of the humerus; 17, musculo-spiral groove; 18, epicondyle; 19, radius; 20, ulna; 21, olecranon process; 22, carpus; 23, pisiform; 24, metacarpus; 25, phalanges; 26, ilium, external fossa; 27, pubis; 28, tuberosity of the ischium; 29, obturator foramen; 30, great trochanter of the femur; 31, condyles of the femur; 32, patella, or knee-cap; 33, anterior tuberosity of the tibia; 34, fibula; 35, tarsus; 36, calcaneum, or heel-bone; 37, metatarsus; 38, phalanges. - Skeleton of the Pig
1, Cranium; 2, face; 3, atlas; 4, axis; 5, seventh cervical vertebra; 6, first dorsal vertebra; 7, fourteenth and last dorsal vertebra; 8, lumbar vertebræ; 9, sacrum; 10, coccygeal vertebræ; 11, anterior extremity of the sternum; 12, xiphoid appendix; 13, seventh and last sternal rib; 14, costal cartilage; 15, cartilage of prolongation of the scapula; 16, great tuberosity of the humerus; 17, olecranon process; 18, radius; 19, ulna; 20, pisiform; 21, metacarpus; 22, phalanges of the two great toes; 23, phalanges of the external toe; 24, ilium; 25, pubis; 26, tuberosity of the ischium; 27, great trochanter; 28, knee-cap; 29, anterior tuberosity of the tibia; 30, fibula; 31, tarsus; 32, calcaneum; 33, metatarsus; 34, phalanges of the two great toes; 35, phalanges of the external toe. - Skeleton of the Ox
1, Cranium; 2, face; 3, atlas; 4, axis; 5, seventh cervical vertebra; 6, first dorsal vertebra; 7, thirteenth and last dorsal vertebra; 8, lumbar vertebræ; 9, sacrum; 10, coccygeal vertebræ; 11, sternum; 12, xiphoid appendix; 13, eighth and last sternal rib; 14, costal cartilages; 15, spine of scapula; 16, cartilage of prolongation of the scapula; 17, great tuberosity of the humerus; 18, musculo-spiral groove; 19, olecranon process; 20, radius; 21, carpus; 22, pisiform; 23, metacarpus; 24, rudimentary metacarpal; 25, sesamoid bones; 26, first phalanges; 27, second phalanges; 28, third phalanges; 29, anterior iliac spine; 30, pubis; 31, tuberosity of the ischium; 32, great trochanter; 33, supracondyloid fossa of the femur; 34, patella, or knee-cap; 35, anterior tuberosity of the tibia; 36, fibula; 37, coronoid tarsal bone; 38, tarsus; 39, calcaneum; 40, metatarsus; 41, rudimentary metatarsus; 42, sesamoid bones; 43, first phalanges; 44, second phalanges; 45, third phalanges. - Skeleton of the Horse
1, Cranium; 2, face; 3, atlas; 4, axis; 5, seventh cervical vertebra; 6, first dorsal vertebra; 7, eighteenth and last dorsal vertebra; 8, lumbar vertebræ; 9, sacrum; 10, coccygeal vertebræ; 11, sternum; 12, xiphoid appendix; 13, eighteenth and last sternal rib; 14, costal cartilage; 15, scapula; 16, cartilage of extension; 17, great tuberosity of the humerus; 18, deltoid crest; 19, olecranon process; 20, radius; 21, carpus; 22, pisiform; 23, principal metacarpal; 24, metacarpal, external rudimentary; 25, large sesamoids; 26, first phalanx; 27, second phalanx; 28, third phalanx; 29, ilium, showing external iliac fossa; 30, pubis; 31, tuberosity of the ischium; 32, great trochanter; 33, infratrochanteric crest, or third trochanter; 34, supracondyloid fossa of the femur; 35, knee-cap; 36, anterior tuberosity of the tibia; 37, the fibula; 38, tarsus astragalus; 39, calcaneum; 40, principal metatarsal; 41, rudimentary external metatarsal; 42, large sesamoids; 43, first phalanx; 44, second phalanx; 45, third phalanx. - Skeleton of the Dog
1, Cranium; 2, face; 3, atlas; 4, axis; 5, seventh cervical vertebra; 6, thirteenth and last dorsal vertebra; 7, lumbar vertebræ; 8, sacrum; 9, coccygeal vertebræ; 10, anterior extremity of the sternum; 11, xiphoid appendix; 12, ninth and last sternal rib; 13, costal cartilages; 14, spinal border of the scapula; 15, supraspinous fossa of the scapula; 16, infraspinous fossa of the scapula; 17, great tuberosity of the humerus; 18, deltoid impression; 19, musculo-spiral groove; 20, olecranon process; 21, radius; 22, carpus; 23, pisiform; 24, metacarpus; 25, sesamoid bones; 26, phalanges; 27, ilium, iliac crest; 28, pubis; 29, tuberosity of the ischium; 30, great trochanter of the femur; 31, patella, or knee-cap; 32, anterior tuberosity of the tibia; 33, fibula; 34, tarsus; 35, calcaneum, or heel-bone; 36, metatarsus; 37, sesamoid bones; 38, phalanges. - Lion Divider
Lion Divider - Cat looking at reflection in the water
Cat looking at reflection in the water - Monkeys constructing the bridge at Lanka
Monkeys constructing the bridge at Lanka - A new method of carrying dogs
Horse carrying a dog in its mouth - Zebra with young
Zebra with young - Zebra with young
Zebra with young - Terrified Horse
Terrified Horse - Speckled horse
Speckled horse - Soldier on horse
Soldier on horse - Rodeo Rider
Rodeo Rider